<p>Takhta village in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur district, about 275 km from here, finds no mention in the police records. No incident of crime has been reported from the village in the last 15 years, according to the records.<br /><br />Forget about murders and robberies, there have been no reports of any petty crime during the last 15 years, says the station house officer of Sahajanwan police station under which the village falls. <br /><br />“The records mention that a crime in the village had occurred 15 years back,” he said.<br />Needless to say, no litigation involving people of the village has been pending in the courts. “It is not that there never were differences but the elders immediately settled the matter through discussions and the issue never reached the police station,” said village chief Arvind Kumar Yadav.<br /><br />Village in harmony<br /><br />With a headcount of 1,200 people, of varied castes, the village believes in working in tandem. “When disputes arise, the decision of the elders is accepted by all,” Yadav said. <br />“Police have no role to play in this village,” says former village chief Ashwini Tripathi.<br />The village lies to the state’s east, considered a crime-infested region. <br /><br />Gorakhpur district has been home to several mafia dons-turned-politicians. At a time when the crime graph has been increasing at an alarming rate elsewhere, Takhti villages stands out as an example for others to follow.</p>
<p>Takhta village in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur district, about 275 km from here, finds no mention in the police records. No incident of crime has been reported from the village in the last 15 years, according to the records.<br /><br />Forget about murders and robberies, there have been no reports of any petty crime during the last 15 years, says the station house officer of Sahajanwan police station under which the village falls. <br /><br />“The records mention that a crime in the village had occurred 15 years back,” he said.<br />Needless to say, no litigation involving people of the village has been pending in the courts. “It is not that there never were differences but the elders immediately settled the matter through discussions and the issue never reached the police station,” said village chief Arvind Kumar Yadav.<br /><br />Village in harmony<br /><br />With a headcount of 1,200 people, of varied castes, the village believes in working in tandem. “When disputes arise, the decision of the elders is accepted by all,” Yadav said. <br />“Police have no role to play in this village,” says former village chief Ashwini Tripathi.<br />The village lies to the state’s east, considered a crime-infested region. <br /><br />Gorakhpur district has been home to several mafia dons-turned-politicians. At a time when the crime graph has been increasing at an alarming rate elsewhere, Takhti villages stands out as an example for others to follow.</p>
